Handling apparatus for macaroni, &amp;c.



E. KRAYBILL. HANDLING APPARATUS FOR MACARONI, &c. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2' I91].

1 ,287,34.5. Patented Dec. 10, I918.

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MARTIN E. KRAYBILL, OF BOILING SPRINGS, PENNSYLVANIA.

HANDLING APPARATUS FOR MACARONI, &c.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

Application filed November 2,1917. Serial No. 199,915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN E. KRAYBILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boiling Springs, in the county of Cumberland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Handling Apparatus for Macaroni, &c., and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrlption of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

, This invention relates to the art of manufacturing macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli and the like, and more particularly relates to a portion of the apparatus or system which I utilize in a method of manufacturing macaroni and the like which is disclosed in an application filed of even date herewith, namely Serial No. 199,916, filed Nov. 2, 1917.

Heretofore in one of the modes of han dling spaghetti, macaroni and the like, the strands have been out 01f roughly in sections approximating the length in which they are passed through a drying step and subsequently arranged to be packed, these sections being cut off by an operator as the macaroni is expressed from a suitable type of press and by him dropped into a box in which they may be conveyed to a drying room where they are spread in trays and there allowed to dry to the sufiicient degree before they are packed.

It is a particular object of my invention to facilitate the handling of the macaroni from the time it leaves the press until the time that it is dried and ready to be packed, and in this invention it is an object to provide for the eflicient, practicable, rapid and sanitary handling of the material by providing means for facilitating the gathering of the strands as they are expressed from the press, and upon which means lengths of the strands are adapted to be draped and arranged in one or two plies in a smooth, even manner so as to expedite the arrangement of the strands in a layer upon a suitable apparatus at which they are gaged into sections of given length and there cut.

The present invention particularly pertains to means for receiving the cut lengths of macaroni, etc., as they come from the press, and has for its object to support a draping of the strands in such manner that each of. the strands may be worked out into a smooth or even arrangement in a layer or sheet preparatory to being transferred to the cutting table.

To that end the present invention consists of a suitable rack involving a plurality of pairs of standards having journal bearings at their upper ends upon which there may be readily inserted the spindles of a roller, which latter is, adapted to receive a draping of the pastry in the course of handling, and also consists in means adapted to receive the roller from the supporting rack whereby the roller may be transferred to the cutting apparatus and by which means the rotation of the roller is prevented during the transference of the draping to the cutting table.

In the following specification there is described one embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein: I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved rack showing the roller applied therein and as bearing a draping of macaroni.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the rack showing one of the rollers locked in position and another free to be rotated on its bearings.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the improved carrier which is adapted to receive the roller and provided to lock the material to prevent the rotation of the roller during transportation from the rack.

Fig. 4c is a diagrammatic view showing the mode of operation of the carrier when it is desired to lock the roller against rota.- tion to prevent the displacement of the applied layer or draping of macaroni.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, 2 represents any suitable form of truck structure which may be provided with caster wheels 3, the truck also being provided with upwardly projecting pairs of laterally spaced standards 4 of suitable height and width, and appropriately spaced longitudinally from each other, the upper ends of each of the standards 4 being provided with a suitable type of journal hearing. In the present construction the journal bearings at the upper ends of the standards 4 are shown as being formed by providing an open-- mouthed seat portion 5, here shown as'of V- shape in side elevation to'permit the ready insertion of the spindles of a roller.

The roller which is adapted to be mounted upon the upper ends of a pair of stand ards 4 is shown as of such width as to be inserted between the respective standards t of one pair and extend across the truck, the roller illustrated at 6 having at each end a spindle 7 of suitable length and diameter adapted to be rested in the open-mouthed bearing portions 5 and thereby allow the rotation of the roller 6 upon the bearings for the purpose hereafter described.

In practice the operator will gather a batch of macaroni strands as they issue from any suitable form of press, not necessary to be described or shown, and arranging this batch of strands, which may be of suitable length, for example about six feet long, across his left arm, he then carries them to the truck 2 upon the bearings 5, on which there may be disposed one or more of the rollers 6, and he then drops the strands of the macaroni as shown at M so that they will lie in the form of a draping curved over the top of the roller and depending in approximately equal lengths on each side thereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. To facilitate the smoothing out of the batch of macaroni strands as they are superposed upon the roller 6, this latter is adapted to be slightly rotated in its bearings 5 by the operator as he pushes the strands from his armonto the roller, the resultant effect of the rotation 0r oscillation of the roller being to gradually work the individual macaroni strands into a common plane along the top of the roller 6 and form smooth hanging sheets on each side of the roller. In handling macaroni, preferably only one layer of this material is superposed upon the roller 6 when it is mounted upon the truck 2, but in handling spaghetti or vermicelli, this be ing of smaller diameter, may be applied to the roller in one, two or more plies as may be desired.

After the operator has applied a draping of macaroni M to the supporting roller 6 at the truck 2, he then locks the roller against accidental turning movement with relation to the standards 4 to prevent the spilling or displacement of the macaroni M, and this may be accomplished in any suitable manner. As here shown, one or both ends of the roller 6 may be provided with a series of perforations 6, one or another of which will be exposed at the open mouth of the bearing 5 above the spindle 7 of the roller, and by simply applying a suitable type of key, as, for instance, a pin 8, which may be flexibly connected to the respective rack standard 4, the roller will, when inserted into one of the apertures 6 of a roller 6, prevent the rotation of the roller by reason of the engagement of the body of the pin or key with one of the surfaces of the sides of the open-mouthed bearing portion.

Having provided for the adjustment and spreading of a layer or draping of macaroni M upon a roller 6 for the purpose of securing a flat and uniform distribution of the strands of macaroni in'a sheet, it is desirable to provide means which may be engaged with the roller 6 so that the latter may be transported from the truck 2 to any suitable point of distribution, such, for iiistance, as a table, bench, or other support upon which the arranged layer or draping M of macaroni may be laid in a flat plane upon the surface of the support, bench, etc., ready for further treatment, as for instance, in preparation to be gaged or marked off in sections of suitable length, and then cut. To that end I have provided a carrier shown in Fig; 3 which consists of a yoke member 10 having side arms 11 laterally spaced from each other a distance slightly greater than the body of the roller 6, the ends of the arms 11 being provided with L-shaped slots 12 into which the spindles 7 of the ends of the rollers may be passed by an upward movement of the arms 11 of the carrier thereovei when the spindlesare supported in the bearings 5 of the truck standards 4. To enable 5 the e'tficient and ready handling of the carrier, the latter may be provided at any suitable portion with a handle 13. Therefore when it is desired to transfer roller 6 with its load of macaroni from the truck 2 to a cutting table or the like, it is only necessary to apply the carrier 10 to the spindles of the roller and then lift the latter from its bearings. It is necessary to prevent the accidental rotation of the roller 6 during its transportation from the truck 2, whi 11 would cause the displacement, if not spilling, of the layer of macaroni, and for the purpose of] accomplishing the locking of the roller any suitable means may be provided, preferably, however, I mount upon the side arms 11 of the yoke 10 at a suitable distance back from, the axial line of the slots 12 a cross bar or rod 13 with suitable fastening means, as nuts 14, on its ends, the rod or bar 13 being shiftable toward and from the ends of the arms 11 in slots 15 which are provided in these arms toreceive the rod. In practice when a roller is to be transferred from the truck, the carrier 10 is applied by passing the arms 11' upwardly so that the spindles 7 of the roller will enter the open mouths of the slots 12 and by swinging the carrier to a downwardly inclined position the spindles 7 will shift to the lower end of the hook-shaped slots and thereby be prevented from accidentally becoming displaced. As the roller 6 is lifted further downward tilting movement of the handle and the arms 11 with relation to the diameter of the axis will cause the locking or friction bar 13 to swing against the vertically hanging and freely gravitating sides of the draping of macaroni M, as shown in Figs, when upon engagement of the sheet of macaroni with the surface of the rod 13 this will cause the effectual locking of the roller 6 against rotation.

Another important use of the transferring carrier 10 is that by it the folded draping of macaroni M on the roller 6 may be applied to the cutting table by simply bringing the forward vertical side, as at a, into juxtaposition with the end of the table upon which the macaroni is to be applied, and then by passing the roller 6 longitudinally along and just above the surface of the table, the depending front layer a of the draping of macaroni will be applied to the surface of the table and drawn along the same to the proper distance, when by a slight upward tilting movement of the carrier 10 through means of the handle 11 friction is removed from the rear side of the draping M by withdrawing the rod 13 therefrom whereupon the continued advancing movement of the carrier along the surface upon which the material to be applied will cause the roller to rotate freely and thus unreel the trailing ends of the draping of macaroni from beneath bar 13 until the whole length of layer of macaroni has been laid flatly out upon the surface.

As soon as the loaded roller has been transferred to the cutting table, for instance, and there relieved of its layer of macaroni, it is then returned by the operator to the truck 2 and properly disposed on the bearings 5, thereon and left in unlocked position ready to receive another load of macaroni by the operator whose duty it is to select a batch of macaroni from the press and lay it upon the roller which is superposed upon the truck. The latter operator Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

having arranged the layer will then look it by means of the key or pin 8 until it is removed by the operator who transfers the roller to the cutting apparatus or other place of disposition.

What I claim is: V

1. In apparatus for handling macaroni or the like, a carrier comprising a handle having a yoke-shaped frame attached to its ends, the arms of the yoke having L-shaped slots in the upper edges to receive the end spindles of a roller to be received between the sides of the arms, and a presser bar adjustably mounted on the yoke.

2. In apparatus for handling macaroni or the like, a roller having projecting spindles in its ends insertible in a suitable support, the roller adapted to receive a draping of macaroni, and a carrier having a yoke with arms provided to embrace the ends of the roller and receive the spindles and having a part adapted to be swung into a plane below the roller whereby to engage the draping and prevent rotation of the roller.

3. In apparatus for handling macaroni or the like, a roller having spindles at its ends and which is adapted to receive a layer or draping of macaroni, in combination with a carrier having bearings to rotatively engage the spindles and having a part to be pressed against a side of the applied draping to prevent the rotation of the roller and which may be shifted away from the draping to release the roller and allow it to rotate when the carrier is bodily shifted over a support upon which the draping is to be laid in a plane layer.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

MARTIN E. KRAYBILL.

Washington, D. G. 

